Projectile
points through time (from 10,000 years ago on left to 500 years ago on right).

Projectile
Points

Flint projectile points
are one of the more common Indian artifacts found on archaeological sites.
Such items are easily recognized and usually termed arrowheads. Archaeologists,
however, prefer the term "projectile point" as one cannot always
tell if the point was used on an atlatl dart, spear point, or arrow point.
Projectile points vary a great deal in size, shape, and workmanship, and
it is from such characteristics archaeologists are able to suggest the
time period when certain types of points were in use. The different styles
of projectile points are characteristic of certain time periods and localities,
and many sites where these have been found have been dated by radiocarbon
methods. Consequently, the style or type of projectile point tends to
be representative of a particular time period or cultural grouping.

Although some variations
on style may represent that projectile points were used for different
purposes, this has not been demonstrated. The idea that points of a certain
shape were "war points," "fish arrows," "bird
points," etc. is not supported by the archaeological record.

Archaeologists usually
classify projectile points into two broad groups: dart points and arrow
points. In general, dart points are larger in size and weight than arrow
points and were used as tips for darts or spears. Arrow points are smaller
in size, weigh less, and were used as tips for various kinds of arrows.
Examples of both types are shown in Figure
2.

Dart points exhibit
enormous variation in form and workmanship. The smaller sized dart points
overlap with the larger sized arrow points and commonly one cannot be
certain with regard to the classification of a particular point. Most
dart points, however, range from about 35 mm to 100 mm in length. Longer
specimens, which are common, are usually termed "spearheads"
by many writers but many of these are hafted knives or artifacts which
served some special cultural function.

Dart points, either
long or short, tend to have a wide stem or hafting area 10 mm or more
in minimum width, for mounting on a heavy wooden shaft or dart foreshaft.
Arrowheads, on the other hand, tend to have a stem width less than 10mm,
compatible with mounting on an arrow shaft.

Dart points appear
earliest in the archaeological record and were used for several thousands
of years before the bow and arrow became available. Of course, the use
of the atlatl and dart continued after the availability of the bow and
arrow, but these were eventually abandoned. In general, dart points are
to be associated with the Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Woodland and other early
assemblages. Their final usage apparently disappears sometime during the
first millennium AD.

Arrow points are small
sized and light weight projectile points, usually less than 35 mm in length
and with a narrow stem or hafting width. They are commonly made from a
thin flake in which the flake scar is still evident on one face of the
point. These are commonly termed "bird points" among collectors
but this is an error as the point size is not to be correlated with the
size of the game being hunted. The Plains Villagers, for example, used
these small points for hunting the bison and dart points were apparently
not used at all for this purpose.

The time of the appearance
of the bow and arrow in Oklahoma is not known. Small points first occur
in sites along with small dart points, perhaps 2000 years ago, but by
AD 1000, arrow points appear to be the popular projectile point everywhere.
From archaeological work with old Wichita sites, it appears that flint
arrowheads were being replaced by metal points between AD 1750 and 1800.